Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 517: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will provide a list (details supplied) in linear format in respect of all meat processing plants here approved by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15210/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The full list of meat establishments approved by my Department under the European Communities (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 432 of 2009) may be found in the appendix to this reply. It is also available at this link on my Department's website:-

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/foodsafetyconsumerissues/daffapprovedestablishments/

The list on the website includes details of the approved activities and species for each plant.

Animal identification systems in place differ, depending on the species of animal, and the methodology of checks at each slaughter establishment will vary accordingly. Electronic scanners are used in bovine slaughtering establishments to scan passports. They may also be used in establishments slaughtering other species. However, their use is not a legal requirement for approval and visual checks are widely carried out. Commercial matters can be a factor in the decision as to which method is used.

The role of the Department's veterinary staff at each type of slaughterhouse includes a range of checks to ensure that animals accepted for slaughter for human consumption are properly identified. Animals whose identity is not reasonably ascertainable are killed separately and declared unfit for human consumption.

Under Regulation (EC) 853/2004, and in addition to the general traceability requirements of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, food business operators responsible for establishments that are subject to approval must ensure that all products of animal origin that they place on the market bear either a health mark or an identification mark.

Additional information on the requirements and practices for identification of individual species is set out below.

The bovine identification system comprises four elements – tagging; bovine passport; on-farm bovine herd registers; and a computerised database, the Animal Identification and Movement system (AIM). When a bovine animal is presented at a slaughter plant, the food business operator (FBO) electronically scans the passport of each animal and reads each ear tag. Department staff then carry out verification checks on a proportion of animals, ensuring correlation of the cards and the bovine animals. The tag number of each animal is submitted electronically to the AIM system prior to slaughter, to verify the origin and identity of the animal before it enters the food chain.

Checks on sheep identity at meat plants are mostly visual, although some use is made of scanners. Sheep slaughterings are input to the AIM system.

The National Pig Identification and Tracing System (NPITS) records all movements of pigs to factories. Identity checks on pigs at meat plants are usually done by visual examination of the slap mark on the skin of the animals, and identification is by herd basis rather than by individual pig.

Each equine destined for slaughter must be accompanied by its horse passport. FBOs carry out checks on the horse against the markings on the passport to correlate the information. Department staff carry out additional checks prior to slaughter of the horse. Each horse is checked by scanner to ascertain if it has been microchipped and if so checks are carried out to ensure that the passport is valid for that horse.

In the case of poultry, it is not a requirement to individually identify every bird, or to health mark the carcase. However, there remains a general requirement for the FBO and Department staff to be satisfied as to the origin of the flock before allowing slaughter of birds for human consumption.

List of Meat Establishments Approved by the Department under the European Communities (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 432 of 2009)